THE NECESSITY OF THE SECOND TOUCH
TEXT: MARK 8:22-33 MINISTER: PASTOR W. F. KUMUYI
Those verses I read to you is unique and it is only Mark who recorded this miracle. You have the opening of the blind eyes in Matthew, Luke and John but this particular incidence in which Jesus had to touch the man the second time was recorded only by Mark. It is unique and symbolic, and it is what happened, not only to the man but also to us in our spirit, soul and body because we are saved but it is not everything that has been cleared. After salvation, things can be better, that is why we go to Him for the second touch of sanctification. In receiving knowledge from God, we go to HIM and He reveals Christ to us, asking us, who is Jesus? What do you know of HIM? Then we go to Him for a second touch, a second illumination and He opens our eyes again and we see clearly. It happened to the disciples, that Jesus asked, whom do you say that I am? They answered, Jesus the Son of God. He replied them, flesh and blood, that is, human being has not revealed this to you but the Heavenly Father. Jesus knowing, they know some things but not all, told them He would send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter to them, who would teach them all things and the new touch will come. As a believer, though the Lord has touched you once, you go to Him again for a second touch. He opens the eyes of the blind and the eyes of His disciples. When on earth, He was teaching them and they knew He was the Christ. Then He died and was buried, after rising again, the disciples were shut up in a place, and He came into their midst, saying peace be unto them. And He opened the eyes of their minds so that they would understand the scriptures by the second touch. One touch is not enough, He touched us before, He will touch us again.
POINT 1: COMPLETE RECOVERY AFTER THE SECOND TOUCH.
Mark 8:22-25; Psalm 146:8;
138:8; Philippians 1:6; Isaiah 42:18-20; Luke 24:31-32 Ephesians 1:18-19; Psalm
119:18; Galatians 4:19; II Peter 1:9-12; Mark 8:26
Anyone who needs the touch of
Jesus must come to Him. Be it us, our neighbor or anyone else. After the study
of the word, he who needs His touch must not go home, or to the toilet but stay
inside and pray in faith. This blind man was brought to Jesus that He might
touch Him. Jesus took him by the hand and led Him outside, away from the midst
of the people who are blind spiritually, the blindness of unbelief, doubt,
contradiction, confusion and every form of distraction. He took Him away so
that He can be with the man alone. When you come to the Lord, you block out the
world, the pastors, the unbelief of other people. When there is no one between
you and Christ, there will be an explosion, communication and transmission of
the power of God. The Lord spat to the man’s eyes. Some people will say, I do
not understand, why He would do that!? But we must know that everything about
Jesus has power: His garments, His look, His word and saliva. Whatever He
chooses to use, miracles must happen in our lives. After the first time, Jesus
asked the former blind man if he could see. The man answered that he saw men as
trees, walking. We learn that after God has done great things in our lives, we
must not feel satisfied with all we have, or run away from Him because more
things are still on the way.
After that, Jesus put His hand upon his eyes again and the blind man could see
clearly. The second touch brought a greater and clearer vision. The Lord is
still working miracles today if the Lord has done something in and for us, He
will do more, if He has touched us before, He will touch us again, in order to
perfect that which concerns us.
Why did the Lord need to touch the man again He who begun a good work will
perfect it. The second touch was symbolic: what He did at first was in the
physical, now He would repeat same in the Every child and servant of God will
receive the second touch, He will open our eyes of understanding and our vision
will be clearer in Jesus name . Jesus has opened the scriptures to them to the
point that their hearts burned within them, but they did not understand fully
until He opened their eyes, which was the second touch. Anytime you read the
scriptures and you do not understand, go back and read again, and you will
understand clearly. Some Christians become stale and superficial because the
one touch they received years ago is what they are still testifying about. But tonight
the Lord will touch you all over again and you will be blessed. Three people
could read the same scriptures and two of them will see darkly or faintly while
the third person will see clearly because he prayed to God to open his eyes of understanding
. Some people got the first touch and they are too busy with the activities of
the day, and they forget that they have been touched once and the grace for the
second touch is available. It will not miss us in Jesus name. Jesus told the
man who just received his sight to not go into the town or tell the miracle to
anyone in the town but to his house. He wanted him to go home and meditate on
the miracles, so as to avoid the pollutions in the town. So also it is for
every new convert, it is important for them to stay away from the bad
influences of the world until they are strong enough to stand on their own.
POINT 2: A CONVINCING REVELATION OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
Mark 8:27-30, Matthew 16:13-17; Psalm 2:6-7; John 1:45-49Matthew
11:25-27Acts 9:17-20; I John 4:15; 5:20
Jesus told the disciples to not
tell anyone that He was the Christ because He did not want them to endanger
their lives. The Pharisees could kill them, just as they wanted to kill Lazarus
whom Jesus raised from the dead. He needed them to continue the good work He
started after He must have gone. Jesus knew that an appropriate time was coming
for the disciples to testify and proclaim His Lordship and Son ship. It is
important that God reveals the truth of the word of God to us so that…. Knowing
that Jesus is the Son of God is a revelation from heaven. We will not miss the
revelation of God.
On getting to the just converted Saul,
his eyes were opened and he called him, Bro Saul. Immediately, the scales fell
off his eyes and he received his sight. Shortly after, after some days, he
stood and preached Christ in the synagogue, that Jesus is the Son of God
POINT 3: THE CLEAR REMINDER OF THE NEED FOR THE SECOND TRANSFORMATION.
Mark 8:31-33, Luke 9:44-45; Luke 18:31-34; Luke 24:25-27; Philippians 2:3-5; Hebrews 10:14-15I Thessalonians 3:10; 1:3; II Thessalonians 1:3, II Corinthians 1:15
Jesus died and rose up on the third day.
Here, Peter lent his heart to Satan by opposing and arguing with Jesus that He will not go to the cross. He prefers Him to be their provider, and master. His eyes have been touched and he needed a second touch so he could see the importance of what Jesus came to the world to do. He was born again but not in agreement with Christ. He saw Christ but not to perfection Jesus, several times had talked about His death but His disciples did not understand, yet they did not ask any questions. Many people today are not seeing things in Christ’s way, neither is His will engrained in their hearts. God told Abraham to go and make sacrifice to Him on a mount. When asked by his son where the ram for the sacrifice was, he answered, the Lord will provide. On getting there, he put his son on the altar and as he was about killing him, he heard a voice from heaven saying he should not hurt the boy because God has provided a ram as he has said. What if he refused to listen and say he has heard the first voice and would not follow the second voice?
As believers, we must learn, after hearing God’s voice at the first, to still listen in case we will hear Him again. If you are spiritual, you must understand that you need to hear from Him again, He might have further instructions to give you. May you not miss the second voice and touch Despite the explicit way the Lord told the disciples about all that will happen to Him, they did not understand . The disciples might think that after three years, there was nothing else they need to know more. This applies to believers who stay away from the Bible study, thinking they have heard and known enough. But it is not so, continuously coming to the presence of God to learn more is the right thing to do .There is still more for us to hear and learn. Peter was saved but did not have the mind of Christ, otherwise the revelation of the Lord would have been clear to him what was on the mind of Peter? Remembering all the great things Jesus had done around Him: providing food for thousands, making the storm to calm, healing his mother in law, etc. He was more concerned about his personal needs at the expense of the need of the whole world. Jesus needed to die for the whole of humanity. The word of God had not been written on their hearts, neither has His will been perfected in them. After Apostle Paul visited the Thessalonians again, they received the second touch and their faith grew exceedingly.
